Jonathan's first contribution (the report "our 2008")

Apart from his funny comment about Kai's ELEPHANT LEATHER shoes, Jonathan made his first contribution to Kai's blog - actually it is a letter Jonathan wrote to the family and friends in the UK. I am posting it here, because it's a pretty accurate summary of our 2008.

We hope you won't mind receiving this rather than a Christmas card!



This year began with Jonathan and Jenny separated by a distance of 5900 miles, but
Jonathan returned from China for the birth of Kai on 28 January. All too soon after the happy event Jonathan was on his way back to Guangzhou (GZ) again, and it would be another three months until the family was reunited when Jenny and Kai made the trip to GZ - after attending Helen and Laurent's wedding.

Kai's first year on Earth

Xiao KaiKai (Little KaiKai) as he is known in these parts has made great progress in
his first year. In the early months he was waking up in the nights but soon began to
sleep through and give his parents a decent night's sleep. He was soon able to stand up and also began to drag himself around on his belly. That was his preferred mode of locomotion for a long time as it was so easy on the smooth marble floor of our apartment. But he really liked standing up and began to "cruise" around as much as possible - that is, walking along with the support of a sofa or other furniture. Walking with hands held was soon to follow, then a month or two ago he finally realised how to crawl on all-fours. But he doesn't resort to it very often - he seems to think it's beneath him! Right now he is able to take a few steps unsupported before falling over, so he should be properly walking in the next few weeks!




Kai's favourite activities:
1. Walking with one hand held (not two hands - that's for babies)
2. Riding out in his pushchair
3. Pushing buttons (light switches, remote controls, phones, kitchen appliances, lifts)
4. Playing football
5. Tearing tissue paper to shreds
6. Having a bath
7. Opening and closing (doors, cupboards, drawers, wardrobes)

Kai is less proficient at speaking, but we think that is normal for bilingual babies; it's confusing to be hearing two different languages every day. Although he can say a few words which sound about right we don't think he really understands what they mean. He will probably be slower than most babies to develop speech but hopefully will be rewarded later with the ability to speak two languages well at an early age. He now has six teeth and is eating a lot of the same foods we eat.



Kai's favourite foods:
1. Noodles
2. Rice
3. Oranges
4. Pumpkin
5. Fish
6. Tofu
7. Apple
8. Rusks/biscuits
9. Mashed potato
10. Steamed bread

Jenny's parents have been staying with us for most of the time and have been a great help taking care of Kai. And Kai has already taken two long (20 hour) train journeys to Jenny and her parents' home town Shiyan. The first time was in May when he had a severe haircut and then had some nice photos taken and the second time the whole family attended the wedding celebrations of Jenny's sister in September.



Kai's favourite toys
1. Mum's mobile phone
2. His fabric football
3. Empty plastic bottles
4. Any other packaging
5. A plastic fan from KFC

Jonathan's bit

Jonathan's job is going well and he is enjoying life in China. He hasn't made very much progress in learning Mandarin so far must try harder next year! Jonathan's friend Darren came to visit and they went o Macao (the Las Vegas of the East) for a weekend to play poker. Jonathan lost money on the first night... but won back an equal amount on the second. After that it was a week in GZ and the three of us watched the Olympic opening ceremony in a packed local pub, which was quite an experience! Then they both flew to Shanghai for a week of Olympic football, taking in five games which included two matches featuring the eventual champions Argentina.

The weather in GZ is oppressively hot and humid from March to November and then here is the brief respite of a very mild winter with no snow, nor even frost. This year September was the hottest, with temperatures in the high 30's Celsius. The summer months are extremely wet, whereas in the past three months we have had only one or two brief rain showers. Jonathan hasn't got used to the climate here yet - hopefully next year!

Jenny's bit

Jenny is now thinking about getting a job, but it is easier said than done - China certainly is not immune to the current world economic problems. Her health has improved dramatically this year since moving to GZ. Her back problem has eased due to a combination of medicine which she couldn't take before (Kai's fault!) and yoga. The Chinese doctor initially put her on a course of "traditional" Chinese medicine: a medieval concoction which had to be brewed in a cauldron-like pot on the stove every night, it included an assortment of herbs boiled up with dried centipedes and scorpions! It tasted even worse than it sounds, yet it did seem to work! But now it's a much more palatable combination of "Western" medicines and yoga classes almost every day for Jenny.

Our bit
At the beginning of December we moved to a new apartment in a relatively quieter area of GZ. There is no construction noise within earshot (at the moment) which is a rarity in GZ, and we are just across the road from a huge park which is great for Kai.

The weather in GZ is oppressively hot and humid from March to November and then there is the brief respite of a very mild winter with no snow, nor even frost. This year September was the hottest, with temperatures in the high 30's Celsius. The summer months are extremely wet, whereas in the past three months we have had only one or two brief rain showers. Jonathan hasn't got used to the climate here yet - hopefully next year!

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, we will be thinking of you in China. This Christmas we will be thinking of Grandad especially, and recalling the many happy memories of Grandma Collidge.

Love
Jonathan Jenny and Kai

We shall leave you with Kai's first encounter with Father Christmas!



PS for the full story of Kai's development go here:
http://jjorton.blogspot.com
and for more on life in GZ go here:
http://jonathaningz.blogspot.com

odds and ends, snap shots

Odds and ends, about the Sanya trip.



I specially bought these Crocs for me and for Kai. I like mine a lot, and I am still wearing them even after I was back to the Guangzhou winter. Cool, a pair of hot pink shoes among all the black or brown shoes. Kai also made much use of his - he filled them with sand again and again, but not wore them, as they were a bit loose for him.

I am sure these Crocs would look even better if wore on the beach, instead of being placed on the iron board for a picture. What a pity, we haven't got any picture of three all wearing Crocs on the beach!



Kai was on the couch of the B&B we stayed for the first night.
Kai has definitely grown much hair since the last hair cut in September, and has got enough teeth to show off. His lovely elephant leather shoes from Sue and Don have now retired after nearly 6 months' loyal service - they are now too small for Kai's growing feet.



A beautiful tropical fruit tree we have never seen before. We found it in a garden by the sea. Later I looked up and found it's called "Crescentia alata". It's said that the fruits are very hard to break open. No animals can do it except horses and humans.



Yummy watermelon juice!



Explore the hotel room: The kettle is now on the floor, so is the base. What else to play with?



The gingerbread (or biscuits) house in the hotel lobby, very Christmas!



Catch the ball, mum, stop playing with the camera! (In the Kid's club of the hotel)



Sleeping on mum's belly in the hammock, the real hammock, not the towel hammock dad uses to rock me sleep.



What a wonderful day! What a pity, our holiday is nearly over, and the sun comes out! Hey, the sun, you are far too late!



Imagine swimming in that pool and watching the sea ... I had the urge to swim in the pool when the sun came out, but it was too late, we had to check out. so, next time.



Bye bye, the Resort Horizon, bye bye, Sanya!

The sea breeze

Over the Christmas we went to Sanya, a tropical city in China, for a short break.

The beautiful Yalong Bay of Sanya has remained live in my memory for many many years. I always would like to see the mirror-like blue sea and the pure white sand again. I went there when I was a university student nearly 10 years ago. At that time my role was an interpreter, and now I am a holidaymaker. The sea should be the same blue, I suppose so.



But unfortunately it wasn't. The weather was rather cloudy and gray. What a waste that I shopped around for 50 SPF sunscreen in the winter of Guangzhou.



Anyway, it's still warmer than Guangzhou (Oh yes, 25 degree is warmer than 20 degree). But it's much windier.



Kai still liked to be on the beach. It was his first time to see such "big water", much bigger than the swimming pool in our estate. The big water had unlimited bubbling waves for Kai to catch.




Kai looked serious when walking in the sea, but looked very peaceful when playing the sand with Mum and Dad lying beside him. Keeping a distance from the moving gray monster, he probably felt safer.

Kai loved to watch the fine white sand falling from between his fingers and filling his little Crocs. When the Crocs were filled, he emptied them and filled them up again. He just sat there and played for ages without getting bored. The crowd on the beach didn't seem to disturb him at all.







P.S: Looking at Kai's photo, I thought of a poem.

A Grain of Sand

　　　　by William Blake

To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild fllower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

May this Christmas be bright and cheerful and may the New Year begin on a prosperous note!

Love from Jonathan, Jenny and Kai

Where we live now - Lido Hill

Where we live now is called Lido Hill. It's just as normal as other apartments in Guangzhou, with big blocks of building,



and a nice garden,



and somewhere for children and mums to gather,



and some children's play ground, and some traffic noise.

Inside is a Chinese style apartment with man craft wood furniture.




But, as soon as we think of the pretty park steps away, we are happy.

Kai is ten months old (2)

Kai, the daredevil.

Kai is possessed with walking. For him, sitting is boring, crawling is ok (on his knees), walking with two hands held is fun, walking with one hand supported is superb. Walking has opened a new horizon to him. Once he found he could get to somewhere on his own feet, he is overwhelmed. From the moment when he wakes up, he tries to grasp any chance he can find to stand and walk, even on the bed. So every morning we need to constantly stand him stepping on our arms (occasionally on our face)while still sleeping.



With fairly strong legs, Kai can use almost any big stable objects as support to build his play area. In front of the TV stand, in the cot, by the chair, by the coffee table, anywhere can be a fun paradise.











Kai is adventurous, as his father. He dares to do many things which seems to be beyond his ability, like jumping,



like trying on huge shoes,



like undoing Dad's shoe lace when he is not paying attention,



like climbing the cot bars,



like getting off the highchair in an unconventional way,




like playing FOOTball with Dad.

Kai is ten months old (1)

Times flies. Kai is exactly 10 months now. Kai is a big boy now.

Kai has got 5 teeth, 3 on the top and 2 on the bottom, with others still pending to come out. Kai eats the same food at the same table with everyone else in the family. Ok, not exactly the same - he can't eat hard things yet, but, we don't need to cook a special meal for him. He is very happy to sit as equally high as everyone else.

Kai is mad on plain boiled rice. For us Chinese, plain boiled rice is like plain (untoasted) toasts. You would think plain toasts are boring, right? I would think so too, but Kai doesn't. He can eat loads and loads of plain rice without getting tired. Kai's other favorites including steamed pumpkins, steamed eggs, soft carrots, Farley's rusks, however cooked tofu. Kai also like eating noodles, no matter what kind, how it has been cooked. Kai likes the feeling of sucking a long piece of noodle from the bowl into his mouth.

Mum, don't take photos. I look messy!

Eating Carrots
I bite, bite so hard, only got a little

How about the carrot end? Probably it's softer.

No, it's even harder.

Kai: Dad, can you give me something soft to eat, Please?
Kai got a piece of orange in his mouth.



Now we know what is going to happen to the piece of orange in his mouth...